Do You Have A Thinking Problem?
How To Stop Getting Drunk On Thoughts
Did you hear the one about the woman who thought so much her brain exploded?
Me neither, though it feels possible at times.
I’m sorry if anyone was expecting a joke. If, like me, your thoughts race like they’re doing laps of Silverstone, you’ll know it’s no laughing matter.
Overthinking is an insidious habit. It may start with a mere kernel of a thought, but its pervasive nature means that what might once have been a small, easy-to-extract weed, becomes a Japanese Knotweed infestation.
It slips in quietly. A comment you made, an email you sent, the way someone looked at you…
Better replay it on a loop to see if it eventually makes sense.
Do you have a thinking problem?
Admitting it is the first step. Now, you can take the necessary steps to get clean.
It’s Rumination, Really
Overthinking (also known as rumination) is thinking about a situation or topic excessively, analyzing it to the finest details, and often repeating this loop for lengthy periods.
Rumination masquerades as problem-solving, but it rarely solves anything. Analysis without action equals motion without movement.
We convince ourselves that if we just think a little harder, we’ll crack the code, prevent the embarrassment, avoid the mistake, control the outcome.
But, thinking is not the same as doing.
There’s a huge difference between preparation and paralysis.
When thoughts loop long enough, they stop being helpful and start weighing heavy. The mind gets cluttered. The body feels tense. Sleep becomes optional.
Your brain isn't separate from the rest of you. When you're under-fuelled, sleep-deprived, or haven't moved your body for days, your mind struggles to stay calm and rational. Looking after your physical health makes it easier to look after your mental health.
Overthinking can bring feelings of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because thinking about what you could have done differently (regret = depression) and constantly imagining the worst (doom-mongering = anxiety) can be exhausting.
Regret pulls you back into the past.
Catastrophising throws you into the future.
Meanwhile, the present moment sits ignored.
You’re not really here, you’re there.
Experts like Julie Smith remind us that thoughts and feelings aren’t facts, they’re information and information can be misinterpreted.
Just because your mind shouts confidently, it doesn’t make that thought true.
Overthinking is an addiction.
Imagine you are fond of alcohol. The more you drink, the drunker you get. Intoxicated. It’s a struggle to string a sentence together and put one foot in front of the other. And so it is with overthinking. It becomes a swarm of noise. You are drunk on thoughts and nothing makes sense anymore.
I’m going to ask you to think now.
The irony, I know.
Think about a time you had a problem and your thoughts swam round, and round, and round. Were you able to stop them by thinking?
If you said yes, I don’t believe you.
But don’t worry, there are things you can do to stop overthinking in its tracks next time.
5 Practical Ways to Break the Loop
1. Get out of your head, and into your body
Move.
Exercise can help to break repetitive thoughts with the release of feel-good hormones (endorphins).
It doesn’t have to be an intense workout. As little as ten minutes of walking can be enough to remind your brain you are safe, present, and capable of shifting your state.
Walk, run, hit the gym, dance, or find any other activity in which you can move and focus purely on the body. Depending on how busy your brain is, yoga and meditation might also be good activities but don’t force it if your brain finds them too slow to tackle overthinking.
2. Do something mundane
Find something else to do to distract yourself. It might be gardening, cooking, cleaning, or another manual task. When you’re busy doing something else, your brain might subconsciously discover a solution to any problem you have been pondering. Or, it might simply clear out any unnecessary ruminations. As a handy by-product, you’ll get shit done.
3. Challenge negative thoughts
If you must continue to think, challenge the thoughts you are having.
Recognise ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts).
The most common ANTs are:
Fortune Telling — predicting the worst.
Mind Reading — believing you know what other people are thinking.
Guilt Beatings — using words like “should”
Blame — blaming someone else for your problems.
Labelling — calling yourself or someone else a name.
Remember, thoughts are not facts.
“Just as thoughts are not facts, feelings are not facts either. Emotions are information, but when that information is powerful, intense and loud, as emotions can be, then we are more vulnerable to believing in them as a true reflection of what is going on.”― Julie Smith,
Just because the thought originated in your head, it doesn’t make it automatically true. Don’t believe everything you think. Examine thoughts rationally. Learn how to reframe them positively, if need be. If you can get into this habit, overthinking will occur less frequently.
Byron Katie encourages asking 4 questions:
Is it true? (Yes/No)
Can I absolutely know it’s true? (Evidence?)
How do you react/what happens when you believe that thought?
Who would you be without that thought?
Turn the thought around:
By turning the thought around, you can experience the opposite of what you believe. You will find at least one turnaround to your original statement, then you can look for examples as to how each turnaround is true for you.
You can read more about Byron Katie’s The Work here.
“I discovered that when I believed my thoughts I suffered, but when I didn’t believe them I didn’t suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that.”- Byron Katie, Author
4. Build a Stronger Relationship With Yourself
Overthinking is often born from dwelling on mistakes or worrying about things you cannot change. Instead of beating yourself up over it, accept things as they are and treat yourself with kindness and compassion. Forgive yourself, move on, and remember that nobody is perfect.
Perfection is a myth.
Building on personal skills such as self-awareness, self-confidence, self-control, and resilience can help you to stop overthinking because you will have faith in yourself, and your abilities to handle anything that comes your way, and the patience to work towards or accept resolutions, no matter how long it takes.
Self-care also includes the basics. Eating enough, drinking water, and sleeping well won’t solve every problem, but they give your brain the best chance of responding thoughtfully instead of reacting emotionally.
Read self-development books, learn new skills, spend time with people who lift you up, and practise habits that strengthen both your mind and body. You will rewire your brain to look for the good in all situations and develop natural confidence.
5. Trick your brain
Try not thinking about a blue penguin.
You’re doing it, aren’t you?
Research-backed cognitive strategies suggest that suppression backfires. As psychologist Catherine Pittman explains, you can’t simply order your brain to stop. You must redirect it.
“Telling yourself to not to have a certain thought is not the way to not have the thought,” she says.” You need to replace the thought.” What if she were to tell you to stop thinking about pink elephants? What are you going to think about? That’s right: pink elephants. If you don’t want to think about a pink elephant, conjure up an image of, say, a tortoise. “Maybe there’s a big tortoise holding a rose in its mouth as it crawls,” says Pittman. “You’re not thinking about pink elephants now.”-Catherine Pittman, Associate Professor of Psychology at St. Mary’s College, Indiana via this interview on Headspace.com
Swap the thought. Interrupt the pattern.
5 + 1. Therapy/Medication
If overthinking becomes a big problem in your life, see a professional. There’s no shame in asking for help, whether that comes in the form of therapy, medication, or both.
I hope these suggestions will be useful to you. If you have a thinking problem, it doesn’t have to be for life. Gone is the drunken impairment from overindulging in rampant thoughts. Replace it instead with a newfound sobriety from employing healthier ways to live and think.
You can do it!
What do you think of these methods? Have you tried them? If not, would you try them? Do you have any other tips on how to overcome overthinking?
Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m a nutrition coach with 8+ years of running experience, 2+ years of strength training experience, and a background as a Run Leader and Female Captain of a running club.
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